Christopher BergRome, Georgia – For the second time in two days, a false 911 call was made to the home of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Thursday morning.
The first call came in to 911 on Wednesday at around 1 a.m. and reported a person being shot multiple times. When officers responded, they discovered it was the home of Greene, according to KTRK.
Greene was contacted by officers on scene who were able to determine it was a swatting call.
The second call was made at around 2:53 a.m. Thursday morning through an internet chat that appeared to be a suicide crisis line. The caller reported that he came out as transgender and then shot his family, according to CNBC.
Two officers responded and contacted Greene to confirm that the report was false.
The department later received a second call from the suspect who said that they were upset about Greene’s stance on “transgender youth’s rights.”
Greene introduced a bill last week to make it illegal to use puberty blockers or surgically remove the genitals of juveniles because they identify as transgender.
The suspect has not yet been identified.
Last night, I was swatted just after 1 am.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) August 24, 2022
I can’t express enough gratitude to my local law enforcement here in Rome, Floyd County.
More details to come.
Swatted again last night.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) August 25, 2022
Swatting is when a person makes a 911 call while concealing their identity, and makes a false report in order to trigger a massive emergency response.
These situations have the potential to be deadly because responding officers are often told they are dealing with an armed and dangerous individual, although the targets of the swatting are usually totally unaware that a report has been made.
In Wichita, Kansas in 2017, 28-year-old Andrew Finch was killed by a responding officer after a person called 911 and falsely reported that there was a hostage situation at an address where Finch resided.
Finch was unaware of what was happening when officers responded and an officer fatally shot him after he moved his hand toward his waist.
The police shooting was later determined to be justified based on the circumstances, but three people involved in the swatting were located and charged.
Swatting claimed another life in 2021 when swatters targeted 60-year-old Mark Herring of Bethpage, Tennessee. Herring controlled the valuable Twitter handle @Tennessee, and two teens swatted him in an attempt to coerce him into turning over his account.
In that incident, police initially received a false report of a murder on Herring’s property. Herring was unaware of the report, and grabbed his firearm after hearing a commotion outside. He was able to drop the gun when confronted by police, but moments later his heart stopped and he died.
Holly Matkin
